paul dinapoli - H55 swap thread (1 Viewer)

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I installed this bearing on my swap. It froze up immediately. I had to pull the tranny back out, and Installed the used bearing that was originally on the fork race. At first it squealed like crazy. I thought the worst. Then the squeal went away, and everything works as advertised.

just did an around the block maiden voyage. so far so good. clutch feels
a little soft but might just need some adjust.

she rolls!!!
 
1 month to the day - done!!

truck drives. fresh 5 speed is pretty notchy - but i suspect that’ll break in over time.

clutch pedal feels soft. might need some adjust - and also just to get used to it

nothing broke or fell off on the maiden voyage so that’s good

punch list items:

ever so slight weep of hydraulic fluid at the clutch slave end. i’ve tightened everything as far as i dare.

speedo not moving - but thats a result of me deleting the non working aftermarket cruise before the swap even started.

definitely want to take @Cruiserdrew advice and have my cross member supports burned in.

still need to shorten the lo range shift linkage.
 
Nice! You're moving and driving.

Mine is still a bit notchy , especially going into 3rd. And it's in it's second FJ6x and likely 50k miles. It has been that way since it was new.

The seep of brake fluid at the slave is not a good thing. Get on that right away. It should be an easy fix.

Good work, and keep posting updates. I put mine together in about 2006 and it's been great. When it went from my FJ60 to FJ62 it really came into it's own.

:cheers:
 
so initial thoughts: HOLY SH!TBALLS!!!

it feels like a different truck. touch the throttle and actually get response. i'm not telling ya'll anything don't already know - but with the automatic, the truck would make a bunch of noise - burn a bunch of gas and slowly gather its wits and get moving. the complete antithesis of responsive!

the manual makes the truck feel downright snappy.

i have a pretty gnarly sounding bearing whine revving up or decelerating with compression in 2nd. kind of a high pitched metal on metal whine...if i rev passed it - it does diminish but not sure if it goes away - or just cant hear it.

could be a vibration - but i'd expect to hear it around the same RPM if 1st or 3rd...

i'll give it a few weeks before i worry. hopefully it's an exhaust rattle.


here's my final #

Grand Total $5,447.44
 
It absolutely feels like a different truck. Nothing wrong with the AT other than it's heavy, dead feeling, slow to get up to speed and inefficient. :rolleyes: Oh-and it tends to run hot. Other than that, it's great.

But I agree the 3FE is a surprisingly nice engine once coupled to a manual transmission.

The irony, is that on the freeway, it's the same. Even the highway fuel economy is the same.

Good job seeing it through, post up what the solution to the noise turns out to be. I had a weird noise originally too. It was a loud whirrr,whirr especially with deceleration. It turned out, I had not adequately clearanced the bellhousing where it engages the ears of the input bearing cover. It was transmitting the input bearing noise directly into the cab. Once I pulled it all apart, 10 minutes with the grinder solved the problem. Hope it's something simple like that for you.

And just a thought, in case anyone is watching, I'd keep that final $ number to yourself.

:cheers:
 
Would curious as far as notching shifting if fifth gear was not engaged and a four speed top cover installed how it would feel compared to the five speed cover. Believe the first thru fourth are the same in the main case. Won't be worth pulling the transmission. To check but would interesting to see if could notice a difference in shifting. The top plate is a completely different design to include a fifth gear. Which is really what the H55F is just a H41 with a fifth gear attached to the back.
 
it feels like a different truck. touch the throttle and actually get response. i'm not telling ya'll anything don't already know - but with the automatic, the truck would make a bunch of noise - burn a bunch of gas and slowly gather its wits and get moving. the complete antithesis of responsive!

...and just when I was admiring my FJ62's auto trans in a traffic jam. Dang!


Edit:
And just a thought, in case anyone'S WIFE is watching, I'd keep that final $ number to yourself.

Fixed it for you.

 
it feels like a different truck. touch the throttle and actually get response. i'm not telling ya'll anything don't already know - but with the automatic, the truck would make a bunch of noise - burn a bunch of gas and slowly gather its wits and get moving. the complete antithesis of responsive!

...and just when I was admiring my FJ62's auto trans in a traffic jam. Dang!


Edit:
And just a thought, in case anyone'S WIFE is watching, I'd keep that final $ number to yourself.

Fixed it for you.

true...in traffic is maybe the one place where the a440 beats the manual. but i live 4 miles from my office...i'm rarely if ever in stop and go traffic.
 
Any solution to the extra noise you described?
 
Any solution to the extra noise you described?

not yet - i'll have the wife drive later and i'll ride shotgun and take a video/audio recording. its still there - but maybe i just need to let it break in?
 
couple more punch list items taken care of

made a new ground strap wire off the back of the t-case. the old one was pretty beat up - and too short.

FDD02F81-0158-4A8A-B782-0B7CD732355B.jpeg
 
also had some clickety click sounds coming from the clutch when depressing the pedal.

sounded like the diaphragm spring - but it was the clutch fork retainer spring wire thingymajuggets that took a serious beating during trans install. they were sliding off the ball

gave everything a good sticky red grease coating and much better now. the spring still took some hits....but everything stays put. I'm going to leave the inspection cover off for a few days and just keep an eye on things. clean up some of that excess grease and button it back up.

3E6FCF1D-B579-4E05-8F9C-D8E9C79C5D7D.jpeg




also - one last wrench turn on the clutch slave hose fittings and no more weeping from there. will probably bleed it one more time for good measure - but overall feeling good about the final results.

last things i have to sort out are shortening the 4-lo linkage shaft then testing 4 wheel drive.

installing new carpet after i find where water is coming in on drivers side floor.

new speedo cable.
 
Last edited:
and lastly

@Cruiserdrew i’m hoping this is the source of the 2ng gear squeel i'm hearing. it’s close in pitch to what im hearing. will take truck for a long drive and take some audio clips

IMG_8980.TRIM.MOV
 
Wow. That's quite a sound. You can check free play too, and make sure that at rest, there is clearance between the throw-out bearing and the clutch. The earlier (2F) set up has a return spring to assure that, I *think* the later one (3F housing) does not. But I'm not certain so don't think I know. I'd put some moly grease on the thrust surface of the TO bearing.

Great project though, and I hope you're really happy with it. My H55f has been the gift that keeps on giving. It ran several years in my FJ60 when I had a significant commute. Then came out when my FJ60 became a dedicated wheeler. Then a year or so later, went into my FJ62 about 4-5 years ago. Been super happy with it and enjoy driving it. I ride my bike to work so don't drive it every day, but it is my "daily driver"

The only thing I don't like, and it's minor, is that with the 2F bellhousing, the shifter sits a bit close to me. I only notice it when with windshield wipers are on high, and the shifter, my hand, and the wiper stalk all try and occupy the same space when in first gear. One of these days, I'll pull the shifter and bend it over 10 degrees, or shorten it 2 inches and rethread. On yours with a "3F" bellhousing, the shifter should be in the perfect position.
 
Paul, can you clarify on the crossmember mounting. When you jacked up the crossmember (while attached to the trans) did it sit flush to the frame from front to back, or was there a slight angle to it? And did you just do the one chunk of angle on the outside of the frame?
 
Paul, can you clarify on the crossmember mounting. When you jacked up the crossmember (while attached to the trans) did it sit flush to the frame from front to back, or was there a slight angle to it? And did you just do the one chunk of angle on the outside of the frame?

front to back there is a slight angle downward toward the rear.

if i put a jack right under the transmission at the center point and jacked it up till the crossmember "ears" hit the bottom of the frame...without pressing too hard....the crossmember would touch the front edge before the back hit. so i shimmed up the back side with fender washers to make up the space and bolted it all up. drilled holes through the crossmember into the frame. tapped the frame holes with threads...bolted in.

as for the 4x3 angle iron... i did one piece on each side. they're held in with 6 bolts each - and i plan to TIG them in this weekend at a friends place in the country that has the welder I can use.

i can take more pics tomorrow and post up if you need them.
 
front to back there is a slight angle downward toward the rear.

if i put a jack right under the transmission at the center point and jacked it up till the crossmember "ears" hit the bottom of the frame...without pressing too hard....the crossmember would touch the front edge before the back hit. so i shimmed up the back side with fender washers to make up the space and bolted it all up. drilled holes through the crossmember into the frame. tapped the frame holes with threads...bolted in.

as for the 4x3 angle iron... i did one piece on each side. they're held in with 6 bolts each - and i plan to TIG them in this weekend at a friends place in the country that has the welder I can use.

i can take more pics tomorrow and post up if you need them.

Ok gotcha. I ask because I've always had the idea that pre-welding the angle pieces to the frame before beginning the swap would make final bolt up really easy. And if the crossmember sat flush against the frame that would make setting the angle mounts super easy.
Given the slight tilt of the xmember involved, your method looks pretty sound letting the drivetrain dictate where it wants to be.
 
I’m guessing with the 3F bell housing, you are running a post 85’ clutch slave setup. If that’s the case, you want the throw out bearing to be in constant contact. The later slaves have an internal spring that pushes the slave rod out and keeps pressure on the throw out bearing to push against the clutch.

A pre 85’ setup, as mentioned above, was setup to where an external spring pulled the clutch fork back toward the slave and pulls the throw out bearing away from the clutch plate and there should be a slight gap.

An easy check would be to lightly press the clutch in just a bit when the noise is happening and see if it stops.

To Spin or Not To Spin...A Throwout Bearing Debate
 

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